Notable: Blakeslee recorded his latest album, Prayer of Death, in less than two weeks at a Chicago studio. The album's death theme emerged when he was writing the songs, and Blakeslee focused on how universal the subject is -- especially in light of the war on terror.

Quotable: "I just wanted to call it out and say the war is equal to death and terrorism is equal to death but at the same time, fear is basically equal to death," Blakeslee said. "It's like a spiritual philosophy, but it definitely relates to the political situation of the world right now."